Lands in Hadley, Essex [Israel Amy[e]s]

This is a survey of woodland in Hadley in Essex by Israel Ames. It dates from 1579. Ames produced several land surveys during the later half of the 16th century. This survey’s are among the very earliest maps of this kind. In the early sixteenth century the traditional method of recording property was by a written survey, but by the later quarter of the century there was an increasing tendency to use a map to illustrate land ownership. These surveys were drawn as and when needed as it was not yet common practice to hold a map of ones land for general purposes. Here, the names of individuals whose land borders the wood are recorded.